Beneath The Elder Tree
by Razyangel14
Summary: Sometimes the thread of fate ends up getting twisted binding two unlikely souls together, with a series of less than subtle nudges of the unseen hand of fate, a story that would most likely never happen.
1. Chapter 1

Beneath the Elder Tree...

RWBY and RWBY characters belongs to Monty Oum, bro rocks for making this awesome series

Sometimes the thread of fate ends up getting twisted binding two unlikely souls together, with a series of less than subtle nudges of the unseen hand of fate, a story that would most likely never happen.

~Edited From Chapter 1 to 5, to be rid of those horrid typos ~

Chapter 1

High above, perched upon one of the great arches of Beacon academy, Blake Belladonna simply bides her time watching another beautiful sunrise emerge from the horizon...

It was a comfortably chilling morning and faint sounds of people jogging and getting up can be heard by one of our rather feline protagonists as she too was taking an early morning stroll around the campus or would prowling be more appropriate? As her morning route is not one for the faint hearted, moving with her natural grace and instinct, the high walls, towers and arches of Beacon had become her own personal playground as she let her instinct take full control, giving her that primal kind of thrill (aside from reading a particular series of romance novellas containing a copious amount of questionable content), giving her feelings of freedom from everything…school, plans, goals, discrimination, white fang… her less than pleasant past.

Feeling the light gentle breeze of the morning caressing her face she just sat there, enjoying the moment, her ears would perk up and twitch every now and then from whatever sounds she could hear. One particular sound she got use to was the sound of metal against metal and the groaning and straining of people giving their all in training. Also she noticed the amount of people scattered around the campus had increased gradually. Usually most would still be sleeping but the Vale Festival is in full swing and the tournament is just a few weeks away, participating teams are pulling all the stops to make sure they get as far as they can for honor, prestige and more importantly… bragging rights.

"..AUGHH...*sigh*... slain again... this has happened so many time I can't even count anymore. I mean just let me know if this has become a chore for you..."

She chuckled as she heard a very familiar groan coming from a location not too far from where she sat.

"It's alright Jaune, you've come a long way. Give yourself some credit and have confidence. You were able to effectively grasp the concept of keeping your shield arm positioned appropriately. With more work you'll be able to instinctively block and deflect blows. So cheer up!", Pyrrha patting Jaune on the shoulder.

"I know... I mean what idiot wouldn't get better when being trained by THE Pyrrha Nikos herself", Jaune chuckled derisively.

Pyrrha sighed, a frown slowly forming on her face, normally Jaune would be fine, rolling with the punches and just give his best... his eyes focusing only on her, a manly steely gaze slowly showing itself more as the warrior, the man, inside Jaune slowly coming out as his confidence grew and she could not wait to see the man he would become once he comes out of his shell. But every now and then he would return to the habit of going down on himself, but it has been happening more frequently, probably due to the tournament coming in a few weeks.

"The pressure must be getting to him again..." Pyrrha thought, suddenly she got an idea. "You may not have noticed Jaune but look at how you are now..." she said encouragingly

"Sweaty and bit sore?",Jaune answered with his brow raised in confusion

"Not that...really Jaune? You couldn't remember those months ago; you would normally pass out or be so exhausted that you would lie on the ground. But look at you now, you are still on your feet!", she chuckled lightly

"... Hmm...if you're in such a hurry to see results... maybe we should…", a devilish grin on her face as she sensually walks towards Jaune, an audibly gulp, could be hear ash she playfully whisper into his ears," …triple the intensity…"

Jaune involuntarily feel backwards, his surprise evident on his face, his brain on full throttle, Jaune is fully aware and forever thankful to whatever God or cosmic being there is that he was granted Pyrrha Nikos as a partner. She was kind, understanding, pretty much the kind of girl you would take to your mother... yeah... his mother.

Jaune shook his head shaking off the somber direction his mind was going to, But he swears that every now and then, behind the composed looks and genuine warmth and kindness, there is a sadistic predator in there, nahhh…, Jaune dismissed that thought, as he noticed Pyrrha was offering him a hand up, of which he obliged. He has long gotten over the need to be macho, funny how it took him so long to realized that despite having been on the receiving end of many a woman's disdain for acting that way.

"Well Jaune, lets end this morning training, I'm going to take a shower now."

"Okay, Pyrrha, I just wanna stroll around a little more and enjoy the breeze. Let my aura heal me a bit."

"See you at breakfast then", Pyrrha walking of back to their room

Jaune popped out his scroll and took a glance at the time.

"Hmmm, we ended up finishing two hours earlier than we thought we would, I guess I got lotsa time to kill..", he lightly chuckled, and he walked into a rather forested area from where he was standing, going into the thick vegetation his body moving leaves and branches with practiced ease. Seemingly going nowhere...

* * *

Blake had watched with interest the interaction between the two members of their sister team.

In her frequent morning stroll, they have been regularly been coming to this spot to train together, more like Pyrrha training Jaune that is. But there was truth to Pyrrha's words, Jaune had indeed grown from whence he first arrived in Beacon. He was in all honesty, weak and pitiful. She wondered how he got into Beacon, but paid it no heed as she used to have her own secrets. Jaune was slowly forming up to become a decent warrior as the days and months had passed, he even managed to ace Ozpin's 1st year tactics exam which 98% of people are expected to fail. But he gave a confused look and simply said "Really?"

But if there was one thing she noticed that always stayed the same was his fairness and kindness, being a faunus, there are far too few occasions in her life where she received it from ordinary people as most would never give it, and if they did, it mostly would just be for personal gain or something of the like. She remembered the incident where Jaune stood up for Velvet, and at the time she was still very much skeptical of people like that, with Jaune initially being how he was, she never expected it and just considered it a one time thing.

But then she would notice that he was always like that, doing acts of random kindness whenever he could, no matter how little it may be, treating people fairly and equally, Faunus or not, or rather he never differentiated the two. He would open the door for people carrying heavy objects, assisting in picking up fallen pieces of papers, and even helping around in the gardening around the school... Not to mention even after her biggest secret was revealed he treated her no differently; heck he was even happy for her.

"Isn't it nice, being able to be who you are, and having friends around you... people that care... people that have your back no matter what, You are not alone anymore. You have us around…" he gave his trade mark sheepish grin

She found these qualities in him very endearing, though she would often just dismiss them.

Hmmm...Act of Random Kindness?,

ARK?

She chuckled at the acronym. These small things that people usually never notice, Blake saw in full view, and she wondered how nice it would be if more people were like that.

She was broken from her thoughts as Jaune and Pyrrha were going their own separate ways, and she was about to head back to her dorm as well but she noticed that Jaune was headed off somewhere not in the direction of any facility in Beacon but rather into a rather forested area like many around beacon.

She was intrigued. She went to a more elevated area and the direction Jaune seemed to be heading was what seemed to be a somewhat elevated clearing with a large tree at its center but there were large rocks and boulders blocking the view

"Where are you headed off to?", she whispered to herself. After a moment or two, curiosity got the best of her and she followed, letting her prized stealth ability into practice...

Having gone through this uncharted path so many times, with practiced ease, his body knew the way instinctively, letting his mind wander, it was a quick trek as it took only ten minutes to get there. he actually stumbled into this place by mere happen stance when he got a bit lost after tending to one of the other remote flower gardens in Beacon since the gardeners were a bit understaffed at the time since some got sick. He was lost for hours and the sun was already setting, then he stumbled upon this place. There a large tree stands upon an empty clearing full of weeds but there were traces that there used to be people coming to this place. He climbed the tree and he was able to find his bearings and made it back before dinner.

He never got tired of being greeted by the sight of this place, his Sanctuary, here in Beacon. It was a relatively large clearing enclosed by rocky walls that you would never really notice it. there were many flowers growing here, all planted by him, since he did help around Beacon but he still wanted his own flower garden since he felt that was a great way to do something productive while letting his mind think and this place was perfect since it seemed like a place no one would normally wander into.

The flowers here were Special. A thought came to him as they were discussing in class the uniqueness of one's aura and its effects. So he experimented on them by feeding his flower garden using his aura and as a result he gained finer control of distributing his aura and was also able to make some observations on its effects on living things. He noticed the flowers displayed very beautiful and vibrant colors that it kinda felt they were out of place on this realm of existence yet it would be more appropriate to describe it as a paradox. And when he came in the dead of night when nightmares would plague his dreams he saw they glowed with the same color as his aura, the same shade of silvery white as the shattered moon hanging above the night sky…

And when the wind would gently blow the petals would take flight in a slow spiral manner going upwards creating a majestic scene that never fails to enchant the senses. The sweet smell, the gentle wind and at the very center of this place was a Humongous Elder Tree, Jaune could not imagine how long this tree has been here and there is something about that tree that he just could not put his finger on. It made him feel relaxed and at ease, like he was safe from everything.

When he had the time he would come here and nap when he was finished tending to his garden and research notes. But every now and then when he did take a nap under the tree, he would get strange dreams, especially when he had Crocea Mors with him... but they seemed like memories of a distant past. It piqued his curiosity as it seemed as if the Tree was trying to show him something. So if he had the time, he would nap here and try to see what kind of things the tree would reveal to him.

So Jaune took Crocea Mors and propped them against his shoulder using it like a solid pillow of sorts and let sleep take him for an hour or two... none the wiser as two amber eyes peered from the vegetation around the clearing astounded by the sanctuary Jaune had tended to.

Blake followed Jaune, pleased that her skills were effective as there were so many leaves and twigs that could give her position away. So she followed patiently and what she saw was breath taking and she wondered how Jaune found this place. She continued to observe, watching him walk up to the tree and lay upon it. He was going to take a nap? Well they did seem to wake up earlier than usual...

And when she noticed sleep had taken him, Blake slowly went into the clearing admiring the beauty of it and stared at Jaune's peaceful sleeping form. he seemed really comfy... so she sat beside him and pulled out her favorite form of literature eagerly waiting for the kind of face Jaune would make when he sees her here...

* * *

**Author Notes: Sup Guys,Razyangel here, finally got the urge to type after Reading so many great RWBY Fanfics, I too felt the need to make my own RWBY Black Moon pairing Fanfic. Though I wont deal too much with cannon since we got lotsa those, so hope I was able to pique your interests with my first fanfic.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Blake had just concluded a rather steamy chapter of Ninjas of Passion after nearly an hour of reading and she loved every moment of it, sitting beneath a tree, enjoying the sight, sound, smell of everything. It was such a place of conducive peace and quiet that someone like her may even be tempted to never leave... she pondered on the thought, only if she had company to spend eternity with, oh how sweet it could be. She turned her head to the left, just a few inches away; lay Beacon's clumsy and lovable knight, the air slightly whistling as it exists his lips, his chest plate rising up and down in rhythm with every breath.

Her gaze lingers on his peaceful face taking in the sight of his golden locks, to his well defined facial features, and finally to his lips, oh how easy it would be to steal a kiss, she giggled as quietly as she could imagining the reaction of some of her friends if she ever said she did. It was plain as day that Pyrrha and Ruby were interested and the faces they would make would be priceless and the cherry on top would be Jaune himself would never know.

Still to experience such a thing that people only hear in fairytales or novels, and few ever manage to make such a kind of love bloom in this harsh unforgiving plane of reality. Even more so for someone like her, living in a world where the powerful majority would deny her people of even the simplest act of respect or dignity. Being in the White Fang had shown her how cruel the world could be to those who try. Either would be called traitors to their own kind, and they would be separated, love unfulfilled all because of something so petty, but just because the mind wills it doesn't mean the heart will always follow and people still try.

Love is a cruel mistress, she will have her ways, and you have no other option but to obey.

Following that thought, she recalled a particular scene she had just read and the setting is almost uncanny to the one in the book. It was too tempting to let slip by.

So she got on all fours and stalked her way in front of Jaune. Her hand gently caressed his locks and her hand tracing his face, she leaned forward and...

* * *

Within the dream world...

The dreams he has been having were like watching small episodic segments, and they were of one particular boy. And that boy had an uncanny resemblance to the statue out near the fountain in Beacon; He had a slightly dark shade of hair than him and had dark emerald eyes But Jaune wasn't sure, there was almost no way.

The boy was in all honestly, like him, he did what he could to help around the village, but was also pretty much the coward of the town. No matter what would happen he never even put up a fight. Jaune sometimes watched helplessly, as the boy would get lynched for doing the right thing, most of his playmates slowly abandoning him one by one out of fear of being hurt as well. It was like a sick horror show of his past, but there was something different.

While he accepted it and would just be more discreet and stay in his secret places, this boy still would walk around, head held high, all smiles. There must be a reason to this.

In his free time he would brush up on the stories about his ancestors taking on legions of Grimm, Known and Unknown, having so much charisma that could uplift even the lowest of morale. Though the oddest thing was is that... there was no existing recording of that particular ancestor's first name that made the Arc name legend.

But the more he thought about it, it must have been some kinda over blown rumor. Yes, his family records have shown that they were all outstanding hunters of their time, also taking the record of most heroic sacrifices in a single name... which is most likely the reason why most people forgot about it, so many died out during their exploits, from heroic last stands, pissing off a powerful warlord, to failed rescue missions.

Except one... the man who started the Arc legend.

His final fate was unknown to all, the only recorded history being that he led the charge in the battle that pushed back the creatures of Grimm that led to humanities' current stalemate against the foul creatures.

"Here we go again... another beat down waiting to happen", Jaune said wearily. The boy was again facing off against six of his usual aggressors; Jaune wondered what the reason could be this time.

"Wait a minute, something is different this time. What's that behind him?" Jaune had noticed, something small quivering, and something like a... furry tail behind the boy.

"What is wrong with you guys! Do you guys go so low now as to pick on girls too!? Does that make you feel tough?!" The boy shouted out to the bullies hoping to make them see reason, not as if that ever worked at all.

"Oh not you again... Do you really want another serving of our fists? Get outta the way, beating you up has gotten boring." the apparent leader of the group sneered, rolling his shoulder in anticipation.

"P-please...Just leave me alone... I D-Didn't do anything wrong. I was just... getting some f-f-firewood." stuttered the hooded girl.

"See! please just leave her be!", the Boy pleaded but the boys were getting impatient so they just decided to force their way through but the Boy adamantly got in their way, he tried to push them away but they were too many. The girl was getting more frightened and despite having a rule not to hit people, The Golden Rule and all that. But these guys were going to attack a girl! Self-imposed Pacifism be DAMNED! He had enough!

Then the boy threw his fist out of desperation and managed to deck one of the hooligans.

"Oooohhh he decked Jenkins ahahaha..."

"He is never gonna live this down"

They jeered at the unconscious form of the boy named Jenkins, What kind of friends are these!?

"Lookie here, you got lucky, so you wanna try being tough? you actually gonna put up a fight now? Hah try not to bore me" the leader mocking him

"C'mon hit me!" the man leaned forward exposing his chin. And as soon as he did, the boy thrusted his fist so fast he managed to bash a couple of teeth in.

"You are going to PAY FOR THAT! GET HIM!", The brute seethed with anger, and they began to surround him with intent to pummel him to the dirt...like so many times...again.

"BUT YOU TOLD ME TO!" The boy cried out and then... came the familiar sensation of fists, knees and kicks. He clammed up using his hands to protect his head but deep inside he was smiling. Mission SUCCESS! Now how does he make the hooded girl notice? Damn... another half-baked plan!?

The boy looked at the hooded girl as she watched in terror, but she noticed his glare at her, like... it was telling her to run. She was more confused than terrified now, why would someone willingly allow themselves to be hurt like that, nobody has ever done this for her, no sane person would do this.

But her time wondering was cut short as the leader of the group finally laid his gaze on her. He menacingly walked towards her, enjoying the fear she gave off. She at least would not give them the pleasure of begging or crying. She resigned herself to her fate.. Just like she would, numerous times before...

The boy desperately tried to get out of his position but the constant kicking prevented him from moving.

"Dammit please, Someone", The boy didn't mind getting hurt but he never wanted to watch someone else getting hurt.

"Hey"

"Another one? Piss off before we beat you up too!" The leader turned around only to be met by a swift kick in the face.

"The girl clearly doesn't like you, but then again, with your looks, I highly doubt anyone would think otherwise.", In a deadpanned voice.

"That voice...Raziel! Your back! I thought you wouldn't be back for another six months!?"

Raziel was the same age as the boy with Black ebony hair and a slightly pale complexion, and dark-purple eyes. Having just started recently in his family's warrior training, his build was only slightly more toned than his best friend.

"I asked your mother to send letters to keep me updated as well since my BEST FRIEND ISN'T very honest with his letters, seriously how could I continue my training knowing my bro is getting beat up by the idiots-six" Raziel replied.

The others bullies gathered around their leader and Jenkins, the one who got decked first woke up with a vengeance, while the boy rolled over and Raziel helped him up. "You seemed to have finally broken that stupid rule of not hitting other people. About time..."

6 vs 2

There was only a slight lull before the fist went flying again.

The boy finally gaining conviction to fight back was doing reasonably well, for a punching bag only moments ago, his body was sore but he was glad his buddy was here.

Being beat up on multiple occasions on a frequent basis made his body memorize his enemies' movements and went with the flow but the damage he accumulated slowed him down anyway so he weaved when he could and tried to get some blows in, by now he was almost running on fumes.

Raziel having more experience in brawling and having learned only the basics of his family's kicking(savate) and elbow technique(Muay Thai), he was doing a far bit better but was still taking too many hits.

There is a saying that "quantity is a quality all on its own", the Best friends knew that. But for some reason, they were smiling the whole time.

The girl having been completely forgotten, was already past terrified and going thru pure frustration a vein almost bursting from the side of her head... it was almost sun down now, she would get scolded by her parents for taking so long, she just wanted to get firewood, then she got chased around by scary bullies for no reason, then a boy tries to save her, and then...then... her mind went blank...

Something snapped inside the timid girl

She removed her hood and cloak, revealing her strawberry blonde hair, fluffy foxy ears and a bushy tail, with a cute face and Crimson red eyes... okay... maybe not so cute at the teeth grinding in frustration as she slowly walked towards the brawl.

"Stupid...stupid…STUPID!" she roared in frustration and charged into the fray

"Huh? Why are you still here!? You had all the time to get away!" The boy said with an expression of shock before he received a blow to his right cheek.

"Maybe she's as crazy as us..."Raziel laughed a bit before he was double teamed, one kicking him in the gut and another giving him a head butt.

So it became 3 vs 6...

The girl fought with such tenacity that maybe the boy didn't need to interfere after all. She clawed, bit and kicked with such feral rage that they never would have expected in her. Her more primal side guiding her predatory instincts, but she was no fighter and began to tire.

The battle continued on for a short while, the 3 fought bravely covering each other with ferocious determination... but was ultimately... pummeled into the dirt.

"You three are all broken in the head I tell ya!, Freaks!" The leader screamed while hobbling away with his crew. all of them littered with bruises and cuts… bite marks too in assorted places, courtesy of our cute foxy faunus.

The 3 groaned in pain while lying in the dirt, but for some reason they still felt okay despite the pain. Their bodies covered in dirt, scratches and bruises.

They remained silent just feeling the moment

Then the girl spoke up, "why?..."

"..We lost?" finished the Boy as he chuckled, immediately grasping his stomach area reeling from the pain.

"Why did you do, what you did?",the girl clarified her question.

"Because it's the right thing to do." the boy said passionately

"Because it's the right thing to do." Raziel said lazily at the same time.

"You always say that, how many times have we been in this situation?"Raziel continued.

"too many to count? But you never seem to get tired of it" the boy said sheepishly

Raziel moved his hand and flicked his finger at a bruise on the side of the boys head, the boy cringed in pain,

"I'm not some saint like you, I'm a greedy person, I protect the people I care about only and maybe then some if I feel like it and you are my brother in everything but blood. Of course I'd never tire of it. Well foxy it looks like it just didn't happen to be your day..." He gestured towards the girl.

"Hahahah...hahahaha...hahha"the girl laughed loudly, she couldn't remember when she had laughed like this. she couldn't believe there were people like this too. These two were idiots, in a good way. She liked them.

"Oh my, we never asked for your name?",the boy thought fully mentioned

"Illiana Yuki"

"Well, I'm Raziel Ironheart"

"And I'm Elias Christopher Arc, and Illiana would you like to be our friend?"

"Hahaha, Elias, no need to be so formal, we fought together already. Of course she is, unless I'm mistaken Illiana"

"No you're not wrong, Of course I'd love to be your friend, Elias, Raziel" Illiana said cheerily despite the pain she felt.

"well I think it's time we picked ourselves up" Elias noticing the sun almost making its way below the horizon.

So the three helped each other out, arms over each others' shoulders, leaning on each other, making their way back to their homes. And a mighty scolding did all of them receive but despite it all… they were still all smiles...

Jaune witnessed all of this, and he was in turmoil, tears flowing down, fists clenched so hard. He was happy for Elias, one of his ancestors since he had true friends so early on and he knows he feels jealousy but he can't help it. He was so alone during his childhood days. How nice it would have been to also have someone by his side during those times, through thick and thin... just like he witnessed.

His thoughts suddenly stopping as reality pulls him out again from slumber.

* * *

As Blake was mere inches from his face, she noticed tears started flowing down his face, his body was tense and his breathing became erratic and labored like he was in a nightmare.

Blake shook Jaune up, hoping to wake him from whatever it is he is seeing. And after a moment or two his eyes flickered to life but his ocean blue eyes seeming to have lost some of its shine.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Blake asked gently looking into his eyes.

"Blake? yeah I'm doing okay...*sigh*..." he calmed his breathing and continued," I'm pretty sure this place was my secret hideaway, so what are you doing here?" he asked curiously, putting a little bit of his usual cheer.

"I noticed you wandering off somewhere and decided to follow you. By the way did you plant all these flowers? They seem to be really well taken care of..."

"Yep, just so you know this place wasn't going to be a secret forever, I was going to bring all of you guys here once the whole place is fully taken care of, there are some places I still need to work on" Jaune gesturing to some places that are filled with weeds and rocks.

Noticing Jaune had more or less calmed down she asked what was on her mind, "If that's what you intend, I don't mind keeping it a secret, so long as I can drop by every now and then, but Jaune, are you really okay, it seemed like you had a nightmare...", she asked with concern

Jaune smiled sadly, "No... it wasn't a nightmare, but what I dreamed of kinda just made me Jealous." he began embracing his knees trying to hide his face.

"Jaune I know we barely interact with each other, but despite that, I would like to think that we're friends, will you talk about it?"she said softly.

Jaune looked up and looked her in the eye, her eyes concerned and expectant of an answer. Jaune seemed to have a predisposed weakness towards women, and it didnt help that the women around him were all gorgeous in their own right.

"Okay..."

So Jaune opened up a little about his past, and she saw slight similarities between their past and saw how different they approached their respective trials. But one thing is strongly evident

They were never treated fairly, just by being who they were...

Blake could feel herself wanting to know more about the real Jaune, behind the sheepish grin which seems to be his automatic defense.

"But I'm sure it's not as bad as what you had to deal with. So who am I to complain"  
Jaune stood up and patted his pants. Giving a hand to Blake she obliged and also stood up.

"I mean after seeing you without your bow, your cute cat ears in full display, I really honestly thought, who could hate someone so beautiful? But the world is weird like that" He unleashed the real weapons-grade Jaune Arc Killer Smile at her. He turned around and began walking to Beacon

Blake's mind went blank. The words repeating themselves over and over as her mind was on MELTDOWN. "HOW does he DO THAT!?" if he acted that way more often then he would really be a lady killer but I guess it's kind of a good thing he doesn't. Hmmm it's kinda complicated...

Jaune turned around and noticed Blake spacing out, he called out to her... no response... Pyrrha seems to be displaying this behaviour too and it always seems to happen after a honest opinion. "Did I say something so outrageous or unbelievably cheezy? Or was I that boring?" he thought. He waved his hand in front of her.

"Remnant to Blake? Ozpin we have a problem… do you copy?..."

Blake suddenly snapped out of it and she went on full-blush and this was further pronounced by her pale complexion.

"Oooookay, It's my turn to ask Blake, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm ok, just lost in thought", she replied really quickly

"If you say so, If anything is bothering you too, I'll always make time to hear you out, alright?",Jaune offered warmly

"I may just take you up on that offer, but for now I think it's about time we head back"

Jaune's stomach rumbled

"And maybe have some breakfast too...shall we?"Jaune added

Blake nodded her head and the two of them made their way back. Both enjoying the silent walk back, there was nothing awkward about it; they just enjoyed each others' company after having bonded, just a little bit.

The seed has been sown, fate altered, the unseen hand working its machinations...

* * *

**Author Notes: Razyangel here! This will be a very long fanfic so I am going to try to build a more natural start for the Black Moon since these two normally dont interact, it was difficult not jumping the gun on the romance, I have no idea how the others do it. Besides Thats what we have Boris the red for and his work FAUNUS IN HEAT. GOD BLESS his soul. Any who, the next few chapters will more or less set the premise and capabilities of Jaune of this fanfic, the vale festival, tournament and stuff and look forward to how Blake, The Sanctuary,The Dreams influence Jaune in more ways than one. It will be progressive. And the Dream sequences will fast forward to Elias, Raziel, and Illiana in their training days as hunters, the grimm wars, and the last segment... The Damned Expedition to the and the lore like how Crocea Mors came to be, The Origin, and "The 100" and my personal ranking Grimm beastiary I have planned! Beowolves and Ursa? Death Stalkers and Nevermores? these are just fringe grimms crossing over muhahaha. and of course our veritable villains I did not forget about them.**


	3. Chapter 3

Beneath The Elder Tree Chapter 3

After meeting up with rest of their respective teams and enjoying a rather hearty breakfast, they are now currently in their Aura class giving their findings of practical uses of their Aura in everyday life. Each student presenting their findings and some of the students applications were either ingenious or otherwise.

One note worthy report was Yang giving a practical demonstration by using a metal plate and one thick juicy tenderloin steak, firing up her aura and grilling it on the spot, causing majority of the class to salivate from the scent. She loudly proclaimed with a wide smile, "And ladies and gentlemen, put me in the wild, so long as I can get some meat, I'm good to go!", devouring the meat in mere seconds shortly after.

"Where does all of that even go?... she ate a full breakfast just a couple of hours ago." Jaune thinking out loudly "Her front bumpers silly!.." Nora chimed in Jaune raised his brow, "Her...front...Bumpers..." not surprisingly he blushed a bit at the thought and so did the rest of the males who overheard the conversation while the ladies of the class, excluding Pyrrha, Nora and Blake, were either envious or jealous of Yang's figure despite all she ate, especially a certain ice princess as she was once again releasing an aura of displeasure by said topic due to being one of her more "sensitive" subjects.

Despite being bred and fed well under the guidance of Vale's top chefs and dietitians, as a woman, she loathed to admit that her development seemed to be stunted and wondered if her body would mature or just stay that may... it only irked her more that their team leader, Ruby, had developed more despite being younger than all of them. Pyrrha was already quite well developed and Blake on the other hand was a bit indifferent since she was quite comfortable with her figure. It was perfect for her style of combat and movement. A larger set than what she had would make the laws of physics work against her. And Nora was Nora.

"Jaune Arc, please come to the front and present your findings", Glynda announced the next student to give their report. Jaune went up to the podium, taking two small pouches with him. His friends and teammates all eager to see what he was able to come up with.

"My Aura seems to be a bit more specialized than most, and through some experiments, I was able to find out some things about my aura..." He opened one of the pouches and inside it was a few assorted seeds and he opened the other and inside was a pouch of dirt. He grabbed a fist full of dirt in his right hand and buried a few seeds.

He closed his eyes and began channeling his aura, his body gently glowing with his silver white aura. his fist emanating brightly.

Pyrrha, Ruby, and less noticeably... Blake were entranced with his golden locks gently swaying and a look of pure focus at the task, made him look more attractive. Pyrrha loved every time he made this face, it showed his earnest determination and she loved every second his eyes were only focused on her during their training sessions.

Ruby was proud of her best friend making so much progress and was glad her fellow Leader was shaping up and was becoming very much like the knights in shining armor she adored in her childhood.

Blake gazed at his form; you could feel the warmth and kindness he had emanating from the room. Like the purest light breaking from the darkness. And From his hands the seeds sprouted and emerged roses of vibrant colors like the ones inside the sanctuary.

The class was shocked and Glynda was very interested in what Jaune had to say.

"My aura takes the general ability of auras and takes it to the next step, I call it Life Aegis, It can give vitality, heal wounds, and anything necessary to protect Life. Normally when Aura is given to another person, it is usually to unlock it or as a last resort due to keeping a person alive due to aura exhaustion, or grievous injuries and that's about all it does, semblance or abilities never carry over"

Jaune pulls a knife from one of his pouches and swings as strongly as he could at the roses, the whole class held their breath, then a flash of light came, and the sound of something flying through the air. They all noticed Jaune no longer had the knife. He pointed upwards. They all saw the knife buried into the ceiling up to the hilt. "And it seems I can also safely apply my aura to other living beings, but what makes it different is that they not only get to recover but so long as my aura lingers, it will work to ensure the survival of what its protecting until it fades out. These roses though, will stay alive as my Aura and its inherent life energy have combined thus it will stay alive even if uprooted, but it would still need some light and air, but will wilt if the aura is emptied through repeated physical blows. Apparently it glows in the dark too..." "

"There seems to be more but that's all I know right now..."

"Excellent Findings Mr. Arc. That will definitely be an asset to your future as a hunter. I've also noticed that you have become quite capable of controlling your Aura. If you would like more lesson supplements on Aura control, see me after our classes. And let me tell you Mr. Arc, so many lives could have been saved had we more people with your abilities. Even the most skilled hunters can succumb to wounds and fatigue."

Jaune began to clean up his presentation and walked back to his seat, but before that he had one more thing to do. He moved in front of his teammates and RWBY. "A rose to each of my beautiful companions", He gave a rose to each, receiving varying expressions.

Ruby loved roses and was grateful for one and was thinking where she could keep it.

Weiss was surprised at the gesture and accepted the white rose, blushing ever so slightly

"Oh how sweet of you, Vomit boy" Yang accepting the yellow rose

"They're so beautiful, I'll be sure to treasure it", Pyrrha entrance by the deep crimson color, thinking if she could find a way to keep it on her person.

"It smells so sweet!" Nora said, practically inhaling her pink rose.

"One for you too!" Jaune grinned slyly, presenting a magenta colored rose at Ren

"Don't make me hit you…"Ren deadpanned while Jaune laughed loudly

"But Reeennn, Your beautiful too!", Nora Pouted

"Not now Nora..."Ren face palmed. Touché Jaune, I'll get you back for this.

Last but not the least.

"Thanks...", Blake received the Black rose, enchanted with its deep ebony color and its symbolism. Normally, it would have rather negative connotations but she also knew of a rather romantic meaning that a Black Rose would signify, when given to a loved one, signifies******_a commitment so deep and rare_**. Then she noticed Jaune staring at it too. She tilted her head and met Jaune's gaze

Jaune stared at the black rose, for a moment. "hmmm... now that I think about it, This is the only Black rose I raised, I've tried before but I was never really successful. It's pretty much one of a kind. When I grew the roses it was my original intention to present a rose to each of you, but I never imagined a Black colored one would grow."Jaune mentioned thoughtfully, turning around and returning to his seat. Blake put the Black rose up to her face to conceal her blush, taking in its fragrance, its sweetness inherent from the heart of its creator. He was thinking of all of us fondly when he channeled his aura into them, and that is why his roses seemed to stand out and they grew according to the wish of their caretaker, proudly displaying their beauty.

She knew where she would keep it. This would be her first gift she ever received from the white knight. Blake would remember to put it as a bookmark for her favorite books, as she would read them to sleep, with her books and the rose close to her heart, having dreams or fantasies of a possible future. She quickly popped it in her book replacing her old book mark. The Black rose matching perfectly with the books red and black scheme.

* * *

After a few more presentations by the rest of the class, they were dismissed and were sent to Armed Combat and Tactics Classes.

"Good Morning Students, I will personally be handling today's session." Ozpin announced to the class, still holding his mug in its usual position.

"In light of recent events, I am compelled to teach you all how to handle yourselves against dire disadvantageous odds."

"Now I know most of you are very capable of taking small to medium packs of grimm but as hunters, loathingly I admit, that there are elements in human society that have less than noble intentions with their abilities."

"I will make this clear, we are not law enforcers, we are hunters. The purpose of the next few sessions is to increase survivability and learn necessary skills against intelligent and skilled opponents, and improve upon them. Working as a team will always get you far but there are unforeseen moments where you may find yourself alone and you need to live to regroup with your teammates"

"So for this session, we will start slow with random matches of 2 versus 1 or 3 vs 1."

So the class went on its way, explosions and groaning filling the air. Ahhh Youth...

* * *

Yang VS Pyrrha and Weiss

"All right you two.. Bring it! Show mama some love" Bashing her fists together, activating Ember Cecilia, with her usual confident smile.

Pyrrha just giving her usual smile before adopting her battle stance with Weiss beside her, adopting her usual fencing stance with her left hand ready.

Yang and Pyrrha clashed head on while Weiss circled the field lunging and stabbing from different angles, using her glyphs to allow her to fight three dimensionally while Pyrrha kept Yang grounded.

Yang always knew that Pyrrha may be her only match in the class. For every combo she would let loose, Pyrrha had an appropriate counter or riposte and before she could get a clean strike in, Weiss would swiftly dash in perfectly without interrupting Pyrrha's movements and trying to singe her with assorted dust, forcing her to dodge and as she retreated, Pyrhha would continue her assault.

Yang's blood was pumping and her grin went feral, as she upped the ante, her blows progressively increasing in power and speed. But first she would need to take care of the ice princess, so she focused on Pyrrha while waiting for a opportunity to take Weiss out.

Pyrrha could feel Yang's blows getting heavier, if her shield arm's strain had anything to do with it. She would try to mix it up by using her semblance to mitigate some of the force to put her out of balance but due to Yang's raw force and will, it only made the blows off center a couple of inches only allowing deflection but she could work with that. Ever vigilant for the crucial moment where Yang would try to snag Weiss and she would have to find a way to stop it. Versatile as Weiss was, her aura barrier would drain quickly once Yang got her.

As Pyrrha deflected a straight cross from Yang skidding a few feet away, Weiss had charged directly behind Yang, this was it.

Yang having successfully put some distance from the spartan themed huntress, and expecting Weiss swift interruption, she spun in place, pivoting using her right foot, letting Myrtenaster's blade pass her and using her right hand she got Weiss' wrist and would follow with a devastating left cross. Weiss' eyes closed and grit her teeth expecting the blow to connect.

Yang almost following through with her left cross suddenly was swept off her feet. Pyrrha had thrown her shield at Yang's legs increasing its force with her semblance, causing Yang's hook to miss Weiss' face by mere centimeters and Weiss ended up face down while casting her freezing Glyph, hoping to trap the fiery Blonde.

Yang had fallen face up, her left half almost encased in ice and saw directly above her Pyrrha about to deliver the finishing blow, her spear poised to end this match. But Yang would not make it so easy. She waited for one more moment.

Pyrrha descended spearhead down, hoping to end the match, at the same time her spear made direct contact, Yang's right arm managed to connect with her gut... direct hit. She was able to instinctively slow the blow down but it really hurt.

It was a tie, Weiss had depleted her Aura, Yang and Pyrrha managed to take each other out.

"Good fight. I wonder what would happen if it was a one on one match". Yang mentioned as she laid on the floor still partially encased in ice.

"That would be interesting." Pyrrha smiled.

Then a brilliant flash of light caught their attention, their eyes drawn to Jaune's current predicament.

* * *

"The world hates me doesn't it...",Jaune Arc somehow managed to get a 3 VS 1 match, odds against him.

Jaune Arc vs Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and Ruby Rose

"It's okay Glorious leader, we won't hold back if that's what you're worrying about!", Nora's pre-battle cheer trying to uplift their leader's spirit but was doing the exact opposite as his shoulders were dropping lower each second.

"I promise, we'll end this quickly", Ruby reassuringly said to Jaune while hefting Crescent Rose its shaft parallel to her shoulders. Jaune was not assured at all and felt his heart drop to his stomach.

He looked at Ren in the eyes, and saw Ren give him a glare of manliness and simply nodded...

What...the…hell… was that REN!? Was that supposed to be encouragement or are you just telling me to resign myself to my fate.

With a deep sigh Jaune got into position, slowly pulling out Crocea Mors and activating his shield. Just remember what Pyrrha taught you, he glanced off to where Pyrrha and Wiess were having a fierce battle with Yang. She can't always be the one carrying me. I owe it to her and my friends. I have to be strong, be the leader they deserve. He braced himself, eyes looking resolutely forward.

His three opponents were surprised by the face Jaune was making. It wasn't one that they have ever seen him wear before. Gone was the clumsy and goofy side of him. He was ready to put up a fight.

* * *

In the Sanctuary, Slumbering deep within the Large Elder tree's Life Aura, his strong feelings had awakened something dormant within the Elder Tree.

"*yawn*...now this is a feeling I never expected to feel again. It reminds me of him back then, despite all the odds stacked against him, no matter how afraid he actually was, he still pushed onwards. Elias... You inconsolable fool, you of all people never owed anyone anything, but they had the gall to ask it of you, after everything you've done for them... your end was cruel, and no one ever knew..."

"I'm curious. How much of your idiotic traits did he inherit I wonder."

"...Goddamn... he's almost a clear copy of you... even in death, you manage to never make things easy for me".

* * *

"BEGIN!" said the automated referee

Nora led the charge, her hammer swiftly descending overhead to smash Jaune's defenses.

Pyrrha had taught Jaune that just because you had a shield didn't mean you had to block everything your opponents threw at you and he took this to heart since then. He evaded to the left only to be greeted by a furious flourish from crescent rose, which he blocked desperately and tried to slash at its wielder but she quickly jumped backwards letting off a few shots mid air, which Jaune managed to deflect with his shield. Unaware that Ren had gotten behind him and gave him a strong aura-aided shoulder tackle launching him forward and got blindsided by Magnahild and was sent across the field. But despite all this, only a small sliver of his aura was reduced from the on-screen display, and less noticeably is that his aura was regenerating, though too minutely to be noticed.

The match continued on for a few minutes where Jaune would block ,dodge and try to counter but could never catch any of them, only for them to manage to overcome his defense. A little more than a half of his aura was left, but his mind was already losing hope.

"You've definitely become tougher Jaune! Hang in there" Ruby said cheerfully.

"Pyrhha's training has done wonders for you" Ren added, very impressed at his progress.

Nora was slowly inching to the right getting ready to attack again, her manic grin still present. She too wanted to push their leader to his new limits

"They really believe I can't win huh, well logically, i was screwed from the start. Why bother...", Jaune thought to himself. I've run all the tactics I could think of but none of them are working... dammit.

"Hey, were your feelings awhile ago just for show?"a disembodied voice resounded within Jaune

"Huh? Have I gone crazy?" Jaune quickly thought while nearly being turned into powdered mush by Nora's might blows.

"Maybe, I wouldn't blame ya, Your opponents are pretty skilled."

"Oh great, even the mysterious voice decides that I can't win"

"I DIDN"T SAY THAT! I'm actually going to remind you of something, Get down by the way."

Jaune quickly dropped to the ground, almost being cut into two by Crescent Rose and swiftly rolled out of the way nearly getting peppered by Ren's StormFlowers.

"Well!?"Jaune thought desperately

"...oh yeah, Remember how you were channeling your aura to the ground to give some to your garden? Try it now, but just release your aura and focus it around you. And STOP THINKING TO MUCH! I swear, you and him were too smart, always over-thinking things that you guys went back to stupid. That's all for now, Good Luck!"

"Hey wait!" Jaune tried to get the voice to reply again but was met with silence. Well not like I had any better plans. Here goes nothing

Jaune had released his aura into the field. His eye glowed faintly around edges, and was surprised with what he felt, he could feel the slight pull of aura but it didn't seem to really bother him. He now seemed to be able to "see" everything as far as the whole field at least and with nothing left to lose anyway, his shoulders loosened up, his shield slightly lowered, his sword lowered, knees bent, and let his mind empty and finally let his instinct take over.

His three opponents once again continued their onslaught but were almost taken down as Jaune had moved with grace and precision they had never seen before.

As Nora was going for a wide Horizontal swing, Jaune quickly stepped in and charged forward dead center to Nora's centerline and managed to put Nora off balance but she quickly somersaulted away, nearly getting hit by Crocea Mors.

Ruby stepped in once again attacking with her dance of death with Crescent Rose, except Jaune managed to dance with her this time round, the sound of steel hitting each other rhythmically as they exchanged blows, sparks flying. Jaune was still getting nicked but the cuts were only just slightly deep grazes now as Jaune's shield managing to block most Crescent rose's strikes, and Jaune using Crocea Mors' Pommel to counter and thrust it at Ruby's stomach followed by quick strikes managing to get three hits on her. She pulled back using the recoil from pulling Crescent Rose's trigger, shocked as to how Jaune was able to do that. Her enemies would normally wait outside her strike zone then try to look for an opening, not stay in it!

Ren quickly followed after Ruby going to Jaune's blind side while he was focusing on Ruby. He once again unleashed a bullet storm but Jaune somehow knew he was there and deflecting most of the bullets and managed to even dodge some by simply swaying and stepping aside as if he knew the exact trajectory of EACH bullet. Ren dismissed it as luck and went in, like a spinning hurricane, leading with a kick to the head, which Jaune simple leaned backwards, but could not react fast enough to the axe kick that followed and it got him in the shoulder, managing to dislocate his sword arm, but due to training and will he didnt drop his sword.

Jaune grunted and followed by a quick shield thrust aimed at Ren's offending leg and managed to send him flying a little bit but Ren was able to roll off the force and got back on his feet.

His three opponents movements, were being telegraphed to his mind, though his body still instinctively selecting whatever openings he could exploit and those he could not... but Jaune's body was at its limit now. The injuries he received earlier by being a moving punching bag finally taking its toll, his sword arm currently out of commission, his view starting to fade in and out

The three were now more wary of attacking. They looked at each other and decided it would be the best time to end it. The three of them very proud of Jaune and his progress, they honestly didn't expect it, but they also noticed Jaune was pushing himself again, so the three of them attacked together.

Jaune still had enough left in him to see what his friends were going to do, Nora Going for a overhead smash, Ruby to the right going for a horizontal slash preventing escape, And Ren to the left, going low with a spinning back kick to my left. Checkmate. Well At least I put up a better fight...

"No...no more excuses... I'm not running away anymore...", He whispered as he grit his teeth, seeing the ending come slowly.

"So what are you going to do about it?" The disembodied voice chimed in, asking lazily?

"I will move forward!", He shouted with all his might, His body shined brightly, illuminating the whole complex.

"...Of course.. You can't do anything but that…"the voice acknowledged his answer, but if one listened closely enough, there was tinge of sadness.

Jaune's vision slowly faded out to black, sleep giving solace to his tired mind and body.

"Give yourself a pat on the back. You gave em a run for their money... asleep already? *sigh* well you earned it..." The voice slowly fading out, letting Jaune's rest remain undisturbed.

After the light faded, Nora, Ren, and Ruby were on the ground a couple of meters away from Jaune, who was kneeling with his head down.

"THAT...WAS... AWESOME! LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" Nora quickly stood up brushing off the dirt.

"I feel a bit sick", Ruby chimed in, her world still spinning.

"Did anyone catch what just happened?"Ren followed up.

All their eyes looked curiously upon the unconscious knight's form. He was sleeping so peacefully.

"Winner... Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and Ruby Rose"

It was a given that they won, apparently Jaune's last move pushed him into the red. While they really didn't take as much damage but they were sent to the Yellow zone.

"That was a interesting match, you three can rest now, and when Mr. Arc wakes up tell him he did a splendid job", Ozpin mentioned as he walked over to them and went away to observe the other matches.

The three helped Jaune into the medical tent off to the side and had their minor cuts checked out and as they were leaving, Ren had noticed Jaune crack a grin while he was sleeping. Ren smiled, wondering what other surprises were to come.

* * *

**Author Notes: This was supposed to have come out yesterday, but ALAS, I was assaulted by the dreaded Migrane. Anywho, I'm keeping with Jaune's strength as Aura based but this is only proportional to his body's physical abilities. If the body cannot handle the flow of Aura, then it would simply stop. But Jaune has a large "Indefinite as of now"Aura and if unleashed on his still somewhat frail body, he would destroy himself. Well that's my take on Aura anyhow as the soul is simply contained by the body but not bounded to it in the strictest sense.**

**Jaune's Aura: Life Aegis ,The Protector of Life Aspects**

***Awareness of the Grand Scheme- See through the eyes of Life, seeing more than mortal eyes ever could. Basic: Consciously activated**

***Life's Abundance- Life begets Life, warmth that flows and strengthens the heart. Basic: Consciously Activated**

***Repulsion- All with hostile intention be warned as they will be repulsed with extreme prejudice. Basic: Life Threatening Instinctual/ Heavily Draining/ Momentum 20% of attacking force**

***Grimm's Natural enemy- More so than the Usual, grimm only containing the forces and impulse of death naturally hate his aura, thus they would naturally try to kill him first or actively hunt him.**

***?**

***?**

**So the next chapter would just be a post battle review and then more development for the Black-Moon. PM me some ideas on a interesting date on Vale or Beacon. I am asking for more hands of fate to weave this grand tale to be... I know you guys want me to.**

**Just a thought... If the moon is black... against a dark sky... How would you ever know it was there?**


	4. Chapter 4

Beneath The Elder Tree Chapter 4

Shortly after all the students had finished their respective battles they were debriefed, given some tips and points of improvement, and were dismissed to enjoy lunch.

After team RWBY and JNPR had their fill they promptly went to Professor Oobleck's classroom for their History, Politics, and Legends class. They were one of the first students to arrive so that they may get their preferred seating arrangements.

Once the whole class was filled, Prof. Oobleck had zoomed into the classroom like he always does, after taking a drink of what was always presumably coffee, he began right away on the subject matter.

"Good afternoon, I hope all of you had eaten well as today's topic is full of speculation and I hope to hear your fresh opinions. Now tell me class, when were the existence of Grimm first officially recorded? Yes Miss Schnee", Oobleck gestured to Weiss

"Officially the recordings of Grimm date back to about 300 years ago, though there may have been speculation that the Grimm may have existed much longer than that."

"Splendid Ms. Schnee, That is correct. Now why do you think it is necessary to at least have some awareness about this topic? All of you are capable of killing Grimm, you are able to protect the ones you love and your kingdoms so long as you are able. So why? Hmm how about you Mr. Arc", Oobleck asked rhetorically.

"Huh me?... Well knowing about your enemy is half the battle right? So the more we know, the better.", he put one of his hands behind his neck and he continued more seriously, "If the Grimm had been around for more than 400 years, then that means people have been suffering from their attacks for so long, we've and adapted and thrived but if you look at it from a historical perspective…"

"Go on Mr. Arc, It looks like you've been taking Professor Ozpin's lesson to heart"

Jaune nodded and continued," We've always been on the defensive, we've never really been winning, just surviving…or…",his face turned a bit pale not wanting to continue.

"Delaying the inevitable? Yes Mr. Arc that is a most compelling point." Oobleck's eyes became sharp as he said that, the room could feel the vibes of their Professor.

"All your Professors, including myself, have slain our fair number of Grimm during our active hunting days, reaching from hundreds to thousands and if there was one thing we had established is that there seemed to be no end to the Grimm."Oobleck pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and continued.

"We believe that there is a source, which I'm sure you've all heard of, The Origin. Naturally, the Grimm no matter how you see them, are definitely not a natural part of this world, so it has been theorized that they came from somewhere, and somewhere far to the Northeast, after so many risky long range observation and Grimm research, they seem to originate somewhere here. Back then most never really cared about it since they were happy living their lives in peace while the hunters defended them… until legions upon legions of Grimm had pushed humanity back to the brink of extinction 300 years ago. Now which of you still remembers a bit of the story?"

Ruby quickly raised her hands and stood up," OH I DO! When humanity was at its lowest, having been unable to push back the largest grimm invasion remnant has ever seen, the towns and villages further to the northeast of Vale were turned to nothing but ashes. The military even with the prized veterans and skilled warriors of the Hunter Corps suffered defeat after defeat due to the sheer number, unknown variety, and mixed unit tactics of the grimm that was never observed before and in a few months the last bastion in Vytal was Vale and if Vale had fallen, the other kingdoms would follow. The other kingdoms had forced marched their forces to help hold Vale but they were still a few days away.

The City was under siege, the King had ordered the royal forces to place the keep on lock down and demanded that whatever Hunters that were standing were to ensure that the grimm would not penetrate the keep, all well and good but the refugees were too many and could not all be accommodated so about two-thirds of the refugees were waiting outside the gates, begging to be let in.

The ground rumbled as the largest grimm any man has laid upon, it's intent was quite clear as it was closing upon the keep an army of the foul beasts beneath it, building crushed beneath it like twigs. Even the keep couldn't withstand that.

Soldiers dropped their weapons in shock, the people embracing each other and when hope was a dying ember, the dark clouds parted and the moon in its shattered glory had revealed unto the masses that a unknown group heroes stood in the beasts way.

A man with dark blonde hair, his armor dented and scratched, uniform and cloak in tatters wielding a sword that glowed like moonlight and a shield bearing the insignia of 2 Crescent Arcs,

A lady with strawberry blonde hair, fox ears, and a furry fox tail that had definitely seen better days, wielding two long amber and black whips that seemed to move with a life of their own

A man with short black hair covered in bandages over his uniform was the most injured of the three, blood still seeping into them, wearing dark ebony gauntlets and greaves, blades protruding from the elbows.

They must have lost their minds but despite their ragged and tired forms, they stood with dignity heads held high under the gentle light of moon. The blonde man had chanted something as a large aura glyph formed encircling the three and when the chant was finished, the man in front roared so loud that it even made the humongous grimm give pause and the three charged and with heroic daring, skill, tactics, and copious amounts of unknown artillery support they managed in taking down the biggest Grimm, one that was about the size of 8 story building or more!

Standing upon the corpse of the beast the dark blonde haired knight beckoned them to find their courage and fight " That we will show these monsters that humanity will not go quietly in the night. We will not simply lay down and die. Not while there is still moonlight to banish the darkness!"

They managed to defend the city and reinforcements from the other kingdoms arrived and it was not long until they managed to push the grimm back, the three were called,

"The Moonlit Heroes"

Due to their heroic defense of Vale and they were always at the forefront of the campaign, never resting until the campaign finished, their monikers as hunters were

"Aura Knight"

"Indomitable"

"The Mistress"

Ruby gushed as she always loved the inspiring things that the heroes of old would do.

"Thank you for that Ms. Rose. After that victory, mankind had beaten back the Grimm and had retaken lands that were lost. After so many victories… mankind had decided to rebuild itself for the next 20 years but at the same time it also became arrogant. They thought that this time it was time to get back at the creatures of Grimm. Exterminate them once and for all, so they began the expeditions." Oobleck visibly frowning but continued onwards, "Now what are your thoughts regarding this? How about you Ms. Belladonna?"

"Naturally if we had the power to push them back then we would also assume we have the power to crush them but judging as to the fact they still very much exist, means they failed."

"Yes that is right. Failure upon failure, hundreds of thousands dying, there have been no official records of anyone ever returning. They were well equipped and skilled, led by capably leaders."

"so what got em?", Yang chimed in, genuinely curious

"That Ms. Xiao Long, is still heavily debated upon, they say most died during the journey itself on the harsh environments, others say they were killed by legions of Monstrous Grimm, those of which have never been recorded, the superstitious say it's a curse. There have been a total of 25 expeditions. 100% fatality rate. Each expedition more prepared than the last. After the 25th, the kingdoms just decided to stop, and put them on hold, the losses having been too great a strain, a waste of resources and from what we have seen so far, maybe even forgotten as we simply just engage in protecting territory and focus on the problems within the kingdoms."

"But here is one thing I can tell you though. I managed to stand at the border of the first place you would need to cross to get to the origin if there really was, The Arid Bone yard. After the 25th expedition, there was a clear law that no one is to get within 25km of that place unless you had a death wish. I snuck away from the long range expedition camp and stood there curiosity getting the better of me. I was younger at the time, having the arrogance that came with it too. What I saw there, I would never forget. There remains hundreds of thousands of bones of the fallen, their swords and tattered armor, there for all to see, a shameful testament to man's arrogance. I felt the stares of thousands of Grimm, as their blood red eyes glowed making their presence know through the veil of shadows. I retreated back as fast as I could and managed to get away unscathed."

"It really makes me wonder if there is no way to stop the creatures of Grimm permanently… *sigh* but what matters now is that you, the next generation are at least mildly aware of this and that maybe in the future things will change and I hope you will be the ones to usher a new age. So for now just leave the theories I mentioned in your notebooks and the back of your minds and just focus on the now. We have enough problems to deal with already. You are all dismissed."

* * *

"Well that was kinda depressing…"Yang stating the obvious as the group walked along the corridors.

"Yes but it does bring some things to consider in the long run. Can humanity really survive?" Blake mentioned offhandedly.

"That's what we're here for! No matter how many come we'll just keep being the awesome teams we are and be protectors of humanity, Right Ruby?" Nora smiles as she does a heroic pose with a imaginary pink mushroom cloud behind her.

"Exactly!' Ruby posing too, cloak billowing from some strange wind from god knows where.

"Now that we've shaken of that depressing feeling, why don't we go off into town and have some fun?" Yang offered.

"Sure!" Everybody nodded in agreement

The two teams went into the city center and enjoyed the food festival. Stalls line up the streets with foods coming from all corners of remnant, lights, dancers and performers in designated areas making it more festive.

The two teams enjoyed themselves and decided to break off and explore more.

"Hmmm… I'll meet with you guys later, I'd like to check something out. I'll meet you guys at the Airbus station"

"Sure Jaune, see ya later, C'mon Ren, you too Pyrrha, there's a prize and I need you two to win it!"

Nora dragging a resigned Ren and a slightly pouting Pyrrha.

Jaune wanted to just walk around and have some time to himself a little bit, and was looking for a nice place to just sit down and relax. Also or some reason he couldn't get over the Oobleck's lecture and decided to let his mind wander.

Surprised at how much her teammates were pigging out and having fun, she was honestly having a great time. Even Weiss was pigging out on all of remnants exquisite confectionary. While she herself delighted in the treats of the far east. Mhhmmm… Tuna

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a familiar blonde knight walking by himself looking at the sights and sounds. Seeing as her friends were too busy stuffing themselves, she decided to follow the knight and see what he was up to this time.

"Jaune.."

"Huh?", Jaune turned around a bit surprised at seeing Blake behind him but smiled a moment after ,"Hey Blake, got separated from the group too?"

"Not really, they're over there. What about you?"

"Oh you know… just enjoying the sights and sounds, though I was also kinda looking for a relaxing place to chill out. You wouldn't happen to have any recommendations would you?"

She thought it over. This would be the perfect chance to get to know the knight in a more casual setting. It couldn't be a more perfect opportunity.

"…I know just the place", she went past Jaune and grabbed his hand leading the way. Had she turned around, she would have seen Jaune blushing at the contact, but she didn't as she was trying to get her blush to settle.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at Tranquility, a small corner tea shop that had a more eastern ambience and a small library for those who wants peace and quiet, or a place to read a good book. The smell of tea leaves and honey permeate the air inside, ambient eastern style music playing in the background.

The two opted to sit on a table for two, next to the small Zen garden. Once they got seated, they ordered some tea.

"Wow Blake, this place is pretty cool. How'd you find it?"

"Well Jaune, if you had to live with those three, you would find motivation to look for a quiet place, as fun as they are, it's not really a conducive reading environment."

"You don't say?"Jaune chimed in, sipping the nice honey lemon tea, breathing the aroma, and letting the music relax his mind, as he closed his eyes.

They talked about anything under the sun, the music they liked, books they've read, laughing as they shared stories about their teams' antics, and even disclosed a little bit more about their past.

Blake and Jaune shared a few moments of silence but both were content with that. Every now and then Blake would steal glances at Jaune and when he caught her glance he would blush and look away a bit.

She was quite happy spending time with him, she delighted in knowing more about him, his dreams and taste and had found themselves pleasantly exchanging meaningful ideas and thoughts. To an intellectual such as herself, there are only a few things that could ever top that and she had never really expected that in the blonde goofball as he was popularly known. There was a surprising…depth to him.

Jaune had noticed that it was almost time to head back and gestured to Blake. They had both enjoyed themselves and paid for their drinks and were walking out the door.

"Thank you Jaune, you were pleasant company", Blake looked at Jaune with a sincere smile

"Thank me? I should be thanking you! I mean, I know I'm not…" Jaune began to stammer but was interrupted

Blake rolled her eyes as she saw he was about to stammer and would probably start belittling himself again, so she got a naughty thought to stop him. She swiftly gave him a nice long kiss to the side of his mouth and began walking away to the Airbus station, a little more sway in her hips with a playful smile gracing her face as she simply turned around to see him, and she was pleased with the results.

Jaune was gob smacked. His mind was put on hold, trying to comprehend what happened. His right hand tracing the area where he was kissed, well not lips to lips but still, by one of the most intelligent and beautiful girls he has ever come to know. He had not expected it at all. How'd it happen? Is my luck finally turning around? These thoughts all came to a halt as he saw her looking back at him, a playful smile adorning her face, the festive lights providing the backdrop. Wow.

And there at that very moment, a unexpected person has begun to take a hold of his heart. Slowly, the seeds of love have begun to grow.

With a face still flushed, he mumbled with a silly grin on his face, "You're Welcome…" as he slowly jogged after her into the festive lights.

* * *

**Authors Note: Sup guys, Razyangel here. Hmmm yes i know its a bit short but I can honestly say that this was just me trying to progress the story onwards by making the premise of what future plots will come into play, the events of the past impacting the plot of the present's future. I swear I did my best not making the romance awkward, but once again, I was assailed by thoughts of more aggressive romance but as our TAU brothers say," The patient hunter gets the prey", I know how I want this to end, muhahahahah, its the getting there believably which is challenging. Next chapter, back to the sanctuary, heroes of the past, small Black Moon teases and etc. Maybe make some adjustments later on. So lemme know what you guys think?**

**04/07/2014- Added more details regarding the Story of the Defense of Vytal, Like it? there will be a more detailed account in the future**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Hey Guys! Did any of you see Blake around?" Yang asked the members of team JNPR as they met at the intersection leading to the airbus station.

"Nope!" Nora replied with a cheery pop, "Actually we were going to ask you if you've seen our glorious leader but I personally don't mind waiting since I got this!"

Nora was cuddling with a large fuzzy pink unicorn stuffed toy almost about the same size as her. Squealing with delight about how fluffy it is. Ren stood to her side obviously exhausted but was grinning at how happy his childhood friend is, and Pyrrha was exhausted too and had distant look on her face.

Apparently it was the grand prize for one of the festival events, THE GAUNTLET, where they had to get the best time while navigating a obstacle course. This would be easy for a group of hunters in training… NOT. The course had so many annoying booby traps, designed to annoy arrogant hunters, that finishing it unscathed would be an accomplishment.

Pendulums, pop-out gag fists, unstable footing and the dreaded maple syrup area. But oddly enough NPR, was able to get the best time, but Ren and Pyrrha would definitely avoid Maple Syrup for about a month because of it.

Ruby joined Nora in hugging the large stuff toy and both were making very girly noises, whilst Weiss simply scoffed calling them children, But both new she wanted to join in too so they sandwiched her within their embrace.

They arrived at the Airbus station and there they saw that Blake and Jaune had arrived there together. They were talking amiably and had seemed to have gotten closer… much closer.

Ren and Weiss simply dismissed what they saw, Ruby was confused about how she felt, Nora was Nora, Pyrrha was obviously disturbed but tried to hide it with a smile as stiff as concrete, and Yang thought this was a delicious turn of events.

"Hey you two! Looks like you guys had a great time", Yang mentioned with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah we did. Walking around the festival, and enjoying each other's company over a cup of tea, right Jaune?", Blake mentioned casual with a smile on her face.

"Yeah sure…" Jaune answered as he scratched the back of his head still trying to hide the blush from earlier.

Yang definitely knew she was on to something and would plan appropriately. Oh the next coming days would be fun if she had anything to say about it.

"Guys look, the bus is here. It's time to get on" ,Ren chimed in, he obviously wanted to get some well deserved rest.

The two teams boarded the bus and were on their way back to their dorms, letting sleep take them.

* * *

The next few days went without incident, everything was business as usual. He had been making progress with his studies and combat lessons. Every time he would drop by the sanctuary to do some gardening and napping, he would dream of his ancestor and his friends as they went around having fun and causing some trouble.

Until one night, the voice from a few days ago had urged him to go to the sanctuary. He snuck out of the dorms and made his way to there.

When he got there, he was honestly surprised as there were small dimly glowing white wisps slowly floating around the sanctuary and they seem to be directing him to the elder tree. So he sat in his usual spot and let sleep take him. This time he found himself in a vast empty white space.

"Welcome to the heart of the Elder Tree, where the memories of The Three rest." The voice spoke, seemingly coming from everywhere.

"What is this place and why did you call me here?"Jaune asked curiously

"I wanted to speak to you in a more comfortable setting where we would be undisturbed, and have appropriate time to disseminate information here since time is relatively longer here than when you are awake in reality. This is the Elder Tree, which contains the memories of a certain group of individuals. One of which belongs to you ancestor, Elias Christopher Arc, and I called you here because I wanted to congratulate you on your remarkable progress but it is far from enough."

"Not enough for what? And I still have no idea who or what you are."

"You will learn who I am in due time. Now what do you know of the Arc Legacy?"

"What don't I know…*sigh*… The Arcs are a prestigious warrior clan of Vale, known for their strength, will and heroism… also a high death rate. I'll also let you know that it made my life difficult as well, since I never could meet the expectations of that name."

"So I've seen but do you know more?"

"Is there more?"

"Jaune, I believe it is high time you knew the weight of the Arc name, it more so than you can imagine. So I will be directing you to one of Elias' memories and you will learn a deeply guarded secret so I ask that what you learn here be kept to yourself and revealed only to your closest friends if necessary."

* * *

Jaune watched Elias and Illiana as their friends and family celebrated their 13th birthdays together, apparently they were only born a day apart, it was a time of joy and festivities between the Arc, Ironheart, and Yuki families. Elias and Illiana were now officially old enough to join the Hunter Corps.

Raziel had waited for them since he was born a couple of months earlier and they wanted to go together. Raziel's parents didn't mind so long as he continued his training.

The Hunter Corps was a inter-kingdom military unit that was formed under the treaty of peace 50 years ago between the kingdoms when the creatures of Grimm became too big a threat to ignore as they continued to ravage the outskirts of each kingdom. So each Kingdom sent their best Grimm slayer and had them form a cohesive military unit and there they shared their knowledge and experience with each other.

The Hunter Corps loyalty belongs to the kingdoms and work to protect them from the creatures of Grimm. It was considered one of the highest forms of honor and prestige to have served in the Hunter Corps, The training was brutal as it was necessary, with a high drop rate and death rate. All the same, many still wish to join the Hunter Corps, regardless of their own personal motives. Their parents used to be part of the Hunter Corps too, retiring as well-decorated senior officers.

Jurgen Arc and Zafkiel Ironheart were distinguished veterans when they left. Jurgen was now working as one of the finest blacksmiths in all of Remnant while his best friend Zafkiel, was the captain of the guard, No sane bandit would ever dare cross the town, after hearing that these two well decorated veterans decided to live there.

After the festivities, Elias' Father, Jurgen Arc, had called him to the family study.

"Dad, what is it?"

"You are now of age, and it is time for you to know the mission of the Arcs"

"Mission? Isn't it to destroy the Grimm?"

"Yes, Elias" Jurgen fondly caressing Elias' hair, "But there is more to it than that. This is a deeply guarded family secret so you must not reveal it unless it is the appointed time. Do you understand Elias?"

Elias could feel the gravity of what he would learn and resolutely nodded.

"That's my boy! So listen well…"

So Jurgen had passed down the tale of the Arc name like his father did and why they were here in Vale.

* * *

A long time ago, somewhere to the far north east of Vale, past the arid badlands and mountain ranges was the Kingdom of Theiwin.

It was a strong and prosperous kingdom,

Ruled by the wise and mighty King Gabriel whose blood line carried within it a special semblance: The Heart Seer which allowed the King to know exactly what lies within the hearts of his subject and to transmit these feelings so that all could come to an understanding.

The kingdom enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity after the years of internal struggle and with his 4 Generals; General Rupert the Invincible with the Steel Legion, Lady Alexandra the Cunning with the Night Blades, Lord Octavius the Wise with the Siege arms, and Grand Cleric Michael the Indomitable with the Order of the Moonlight, all of which were his closest friends, and with their undying loyalty had chosen to be stationed at the borders of the kingdom to protect it.

But like all mortals, the King had passed away and the whole kingdom was in mourning for months.

When it came to the topic of succession, the King only had one daughter, Princess Victoria. She was truly a sight to behold, she had inherited her enchanting looks from her mother and her personality was every bit like her father was, head strong and kind but she had trouble summoning her aura and at the time there were no know rituals for unlocking aura, so this was a closely guarded secret, known only to Queen Anastasia and her closest friend, Sir Logan, the son of General Rupert.

Weeks had gone on and on, the nobility bickering as to who should take up the mantle of king as the 4 Generals had no intention of taking the throne. So Queen Anastasia had decided that the next King will be chosen by Princess Victoria and whomever she chooses will be the next King. No one would voice their displeasure as after all, believing that the Princess could very well use her semblance.

As a formality, the Princess had gone on multiple meetings with the sons of the noble houses but to the Princess there was only one person that had claimed her heart. Princess Victoria was in love with Sir Logan, and he with her, this was plain as day. So once the formalities were over she had presented her choice to her mother and the two confess their love to each other. The Queen naturally approves. And later that evening the two had consummated their love.

The other nobles knew from the very beginning that this would be the outcome and so they had made preparations and conspired with one another.

Two days prior to public announcement of Princess Victoria's chosen King. The noble houses with their private garrisons had started a coup and the castle was raided. The Royal guards were outnumbered and taken by surprise but were able to signal to the Generals that the castle had been taken.

In the throne room the conspirators had bound and gathered the Queen, Princess Victoria and Sir Logan. The Queen was murdered in front of the two. As they approached the Princess, with their malice and intent apparent, Sir Logan rushes in to fights them off, but with his binds still on and no weapon, they were too many, and was stabbed repeatedly but they did not kill him outright, they wanted him to watch. The trauma forced the princess' aura to awaken and her semblance became active, and she was assailed by the thoughts of malice, greed, lust, and violence. Her mind was flooded and she was paralyzed in fear. The conspirators took advantage of this as she was in no state to resist.

She was violated time and time again as Sir Logan screamed swearing vengeance. The corrupt thoughts and feelings poisoned her mind and it shattered. Their true motives laid bare, the plans for this kingdom would not only stop at this, they would destroy everything her father had strived to achieve.

As the conspirators were celebrating their conquest and the fact that that they were safe so long as they kept the Princess hostage, they should fear no swift retaliation from the 4 Generals.

Suddenly a darkness had exploded from the broken princess her twisted black aura had engulfed the room, Sir Logan was engulfed by the darkness and the conspirators were assailed by so much pain that some died outright while the others were still suffering and foaming in the mouth. The semblance of her aura had overloaded their minds with pain and suffering and she was engulfed with a sense of satisfaction having gained swift vengeance, her aura now engulfing the rest of the castle.

After seeing the signal flare from the capital, The Generals had swiftly marched their armies back to the capital, Rupert, Alexandria, and Octavius had arrived at the same time. They engaged the traitors and battled their way to the castle. Grand Cleric Michael and his Order of the Moonlight, who was positioned far to the west was still a couple of miles away.

The 3 Generals had ordered their respective armies to secure the perimeter as the 3 would personally go into the castle with their elite units.

Once inside they felt the darkness and saw it as it twisted everything inside the castle. They quickly navigated the corridors fearing for the worst and the 3 Generals charged into the throne room and there they saw they saw the Princess as she sat there in tatters, and everyone else there were dead. The 3 Generals knew exactly what happened. They walked into the room, and the princess started speaking, each word brought feelings of pain to those who heard it. Filled with hatred about the darkness that could be born from the heart of man could bring and the lengths they would go to achieve their selfish ambitions without a care, like parasites, she swore to destroy humanity, for supposed well bred and educated men, supposed models for society, not fearing hunger or threat of death had been willing to go so far for their greed, to deny her small wish of happiness, and the solution to prevent such a tragedy again from befalling anyone would be to end humanity, and they would all bend to her wish. The 3 Generals had tried to reason with her but the princess was too far gone and the guilt of failure only made their efforts half hearted and empty.

A cry so painful could be heard across the kingdom as the capital had already almost been engulfed by the darkness and nothing would be spared.

The 3 Generals reeling from the guilt in their failure to keep the promise asked by their dearest departed friend, their hearts too were overcome but this time…they would not fail to protect her, no matter what. Their thoughts became a collective and the rest of the kingdom had come to know the tragedy that had fallen, others empathized and allowed themselves to be twisted, others tried to resist but were assimilated in the end. The armies of the 3 generals within and outside the castle were fiercely loyal to their generals, and would follow them through death and beyond. Their minds melding together to follow the wishes of their Princess…their Queen, the eradication of Humanity and they will obey.

The darkness continued to spread as the Grand Cleric had almost reached the Main gate of the capital and the Order was greeted with the once pristine city engulfed within a foul darkness, slowly being changed and twisted into something else and there was a deathly and unnerving silence within the capital.

The Grand Cleric had instructed the order to set up camp away from the spreading darkness, telling to be on standby. Between the 4 Generals, Grand Cleric Michael was the second strongest aura warrior in the kingdom, His best friend the dearly departed King was the strongest. He meditated trying to get a grasp on the situation and had felt the intent within the darkness and understood the source. As the raw emotions and feelings seeped into him, the fate of those he held dear, their forms now twisted into blackened flesh and metal, their faces covered by their helmets now twisted into a deathly visage which all of remnant will come to fear, all forming and coming together ready to march out and annihilate everything in following their single purpose. Michael cried tears of blood, having felt the pain and anguish, this course of events may even be completely justified but his heart did not waver. He could not allow this force of darkness to plunge the world into darkness.

The innocent did not deserve it.

He called the whole order to gather around as he gazed into the city, his whole order behind him standing in rapt attention. He turned around to face his comrades with tears of blood still streaming down his face and began speaking. He explained the situation and what needed to be done and the consequences it had. The order remained steadfast despite most crying letting the tears flow as they willing resigned themselves to their fate. The Grand Cleric instructed them to make preparations with haste.

The Grand Cleric spoke with his trusted aide, the 1st Paladin Valerius Arc in private and asked him to listen to more details of the plan and to his final order. The Grand Cleric knocked him out put him on a horse with the necessary supplies going in the direction of Vale, a small budding kingdom at the time. The Grand Cleric knew Valerius would refuse, he was loyal and protective to a fault, but due to the trust, respect and friendship built over the years as his aide, there was no one else. So he entrusted Valerius the hardest and most painful mission of all.

The preparations had taken time but the order had surrounded the perimeter of the capital. They would willingly become the pillars of the Grand Cleric's Plan.

The Order of the Moonlight was 100 of the kingdom's strongest and most potent aura warriors, known for their extraordinary reserves of aura, and the ability to outlast the harshest of battles. 99 of them stayed and 1 was sent away to ensure the world's continued survival.

The 99 members of the order had given their whole life energy and consciousness to the Grand Cleric, and in turn the Grand Cleric had shot the full concentration of Pure Aura up into the sky towards the moon. The force of the collective energy had deflected off the moon's surface, shattering the celestial body, and formed above the kingdom creating a large barrier, the order had sacrificed their life energy and their collective consciousness becoming the barrier itself.

The Grand Cleric needed the barrier to last for centuries so he and the collective consciousness of the order had to compromise so that it would buy time for humanity to become stronger, so the barrier would focus on keeping the once glorious armies of Theiwin now twisted in to a Legion of Death and destruction, now locked within.

Valerius Arc had awoken on his horse already deep within the mountain ranges half way to Vale, he noticed a piece of parchment on his person and read it.

"To my dear friend Valerius,

I ask of you three things, First is for you to survive and keep the knowledge of the Origin of what I now call them, "Creatures of Grimm", Second is to begin the necessary steps for humanity to triumph and third is To disclose the origins of the Grimm to the world when Mankind is truly capable of undoing the mistakes of the past and not a moment sooner. I assure you that we will keep the twisted knights and my friends inside for as long as we can. Beware of the wildlife and ancients in the coming days for I am sure they too will be twisted and corrupted. I have no doubt that they will obey the impulse of death and begin attacking humanity.

I ask of you to burn this parchment when you are done reading it. This may antagonize you in the future if left in the hands of the ignorant.

And if you can find it in your heart, please forgive me… I know the burden of what I placed on you but I still ask of you to complete it. You're the only one left that can. Goodbye and let the moonlight guide your way.

-Michael"

A large pillar of light had caught Valerius' attention and was able to see Grand Cleric Michael's last act and watched with gut wrenching sadness and grief. The burden of his mission laid heavily on his shoulder, the last living son of the kingdom of Theiwin. The light of the now shattered form of the moon, his only comfort as he made his way to Vale to fulfill his last mission.

* * *

Elias was in tears after the story, audibly sobbing at what had happened to their original homeland, not sure what to feel. He was inspired by the sacrifice of the Order of the Moonlight and the courage of Valerius Arc, lesser men would have just broken down.

"And that's what we are here for Elias, our family mission. As far as I see it, we still aren't strong enough to complete the mission but humanity is headed in the right direction, the Hunter Corps being one of the biggest steps but we keep getting side tracked by useless politicking and internal conflicts. I hope that it won't be too late. So for now we prepare."

Elias nodded wiping his tears away.

"And I have one more present for you." Jurgen turned around and picked up a sleek silver white sword, its handle wrapped in fine red leather, its blade housed in a simple steel sheath.

"This is going to be your life long companion. I forged her out of a unique metal I found in my travels and using my patented aura forging technique, I was able to create one of the first sentient blades! I forged weapons for Raziel and Illiana too. I call her Crocea Mors and she is very eager to meet you!"

Elias carefully reached out for the sword and once his hands gripped the handle firmly, he felt warmth coming from the sword. He drew it and the sword sang.

"Perfect! You two were made for each other hahahaha"

Elias put Crocea Mors back into its sheath and embraced her.

"Thank you Dad! Think I could get a shield too?"

"Only the best for you son, now off to bed with you! You have preparations to make"

Elias gave his father a big hug and went back to his room.

* * *

"…wait… Crocea Mors is sentient!? And what about the sheath I have now?"

"… You mean to tell me you didn't know? You never tried to channel your aura or consciousness into Crocea Mors? *sigh* well now you do. You should talk to her sometime."

"And the sheath that you have now was forged sometime later by someone very dear to the three of us, without her, we would never have gotten through so much…"The voice said with warmth," well I'm sure you have much to think about so I suggest you head back to your dorm before someone notices your disappearance."

Jaune woke up and headed back to his dorm quietly, trying to digest the new found information he learned and what he would do with it. Life sure was complicated for an Arc, then and now.

* * *

In the long forgotten ruins of a once great kingdom, the large barrier that surrounds it continues to grow weaker and dimmer as each day passes by

"You resisted valiantly but as I've told you countless times... You are delaying the inevitable. So why not just let your souls rest", the collective voice of the GRIMM spoke to the consciousness within the barrier. "You can't hide it, you've all done well these past hundreds of year but now there are only 14 of you left, it's only a matter of time and you will see that all your efforts have been in vain."

The barrier still continued to valiantly keep them in.

"Fools, You all know as we do that humanity will never change and you will find your faith unrewarded"

The barrier's light intensified, seemingly like an act of defiance, searing any of the Grimm standing close to it

"... So your answer remains the same, that's a shame...because it won't be long now. YOU CANT CONTAIN US! OUR INFLUENCE HAD LONG EXCEEDED THE CONFINES OF THIS PRISON AND WE WILL BURN THIS WORLD! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH"

The Blood curdling roars pierced the silent night sky, a prelude to the end that is long overdue.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys, Razyangel here. Not quite the mega chapter I thought it would be. At least I finally got the Origins of the Grimm segment complete and yes the barrier is still very much active... but not for long so the REALLY BAD GRIMM, which even the best hunter will have trouble.**

**GRIMM HEIRARCHY**

**CURRENTLY INSIDE THE BARRIER- THE TRUE GRIMM**

**"THE ORIGIN OF THE GRIMM"- Do I even need to explain who this is?**

**"THE 3 GENERALS"**

**"THE LEGIONS OF DEATH" The Steel Legion, Night Blades, and The Siege Arms**

**"THE TWISTED DENIZENS"The peasant commmunity AKA cannon fodder with brains... if that makes sense, comprises a good 60 Percent of the population really...**

**OUTSIDE THE BARRIER**

**"THE DESECRATED ANCIENTS"**

**"THE PRIMALS" The 1st generation** **twisted creatures of GRIMM**

**"BEHEMOTHS"**

**"THE ALPHAS"**

**"THE COMMON"- Comprises your standard creatures of Grimm yada yada yada**

**I'm about half way from finishing chapter 6, I'll post it tomorrow or in a few hours. Depends. You know how it is. Cleaning a clogged grease trap PVC drainage pipe in an awkward sitting position with an Augur takes up a lot of time and energy. Stinks too. but all the same I'll post the next chapter later or tomorrow.**

**I really do appreciate the reviews and constructive criticisms. I've also received some PM's about some technical nuances such as Capitalization and etc. so let me know via PM as I will be revising some of the previous chapters before proceeding, making it a more pleasant read for everyone. So once again I ask, join me as we weave this tale while we can because once the Cannon RWBY gets started, I highly doubt this would still be as attractive! muhahahaha**


	6. Chapter 6

**Beneath The Elder Tree Chapter 6**

"BUUUUURRRPPP…. that was filling. Well guys see ya'll at Prof. Ports class. I got stuff I gotta attend to", Jaune said as he was wiping his mouth with a napkin and swiftly pulling out his notebook on advance techniques on Aura Meditation, putting it in front of his face, reading it as he made a light jog to his destination, gracefully weaving in and out of the crowded entrance of the cafeteria.

The two teams were dumbfounded once again at the reoccurring spectacle they had just witnessed, with eyes and mouths wide open. Jaune had just out eaten Yang And Nora for the whole week, not only in sheer quantity but in speed.

"This has been going on for about a week or two now. What's going on with Vomit Boy? It's really wierding me out how he's been at it like this for the past few days." Yang exclaimed as she tore into her t-bone steak

"I honestly thought that maybe Jaune was just feeling the pressure as the Vytal Festival is in a few days from now… but I can't help but feel that something is Happening again and he isn't telling anyone…again." Pyrrha sounding distraught because she honestly believed that they were already past keeping secrets with each Other. She was actually surprised to find that Jaune proactively wanted to triple the intensity of their morning training sessions and for the whole week he has been Consistently following the routine without a single complain.

"Is it Cardin again!?.. Can we PLEASE break his legs this time!?" Nora pouted as she was vibrating with excitement

"I highly doubt that, Believe it or not, Cardin and his team are really trying to change their ways and haven't been causing trouble for anyone. They're now legitimately part of the top ten teams for the 1st years", Ren chimed in non-chalantly as he stroked his chin.

"I think it's a good thing that he is taking his stay here more seriously but he could at least enjoy his food, it's quite rude" Weiss voice containing a hint of concern. All eyes were looking at her questioningly."What? Even I can see that he could be running himself ragged!"

"Well as a fellow leader I say we just give him the benefit of the doubt!" Ruby optimistically gives her say in the matter and everyone nods in agreement, "After all, you've all seen how much better he is now and I'm sure that it isn't anything too serious."

Blake sat there in letting her thoughts wander as she was nibbling on a piece of salmon while she trying to read her usual book on her left hand, her bow twitching ever so slightly. She had noticed that Jaune's usual routines have changed this past week; He sleeps more in the Sanctuary, has been regularly asking Prof. Goodwitch on Aura Control Tips and has also been frequently visiting the library more on his own, while keeping his usual training regiment with Pyrrha. It's surprising that he hasn't keeled over yet.

The way he moved showed something different, it was not simply on a whim or out of curiosity that he moved, every step he took had purpose, a conviction pushing him onward.

"But whenever he is with us, he reverts back to the Jaune we know, and I understand why everyone else is concerned.", Blake thought to herself

Blake's lips curled into a smile," I suppose it wouldn't hurt to "gently" ask him about it."

* * *

Prof. Port was once again regaling one of his tales when he was crossing the Sapphire Sea towards the desert city Sirione, building up to the climax.

"…AND THEN AS THE BEAST WAS ABOUT TO TAKE A LARGE CHUNK OUT OF MY DELICIOUS…."

"AHHEMMM….. Professor Port please excuse me, I would like to take a bit of your time to announce the official categories for the tournament."

"Ahh, Professor Goodwitch, please by all means, do take your time."

"Thank you. Listen well, the official tournament categories will be hunter vs hunter, hunter vs grimm, team vs team, team vs grimm. It is mandatory that you all participate during the team battles as this would be a great opportunity for everyone to learn. The solo events however are for the top 10 teams. So everyone continue their studies and prepare accordingly. Also there will be a special showcase for the defense council and we have been requested to select a hunter to show the capabilities of their newest project, the hunter will be randomly chosen during the tournament. For any further updates regarding the festivities, refer to Beacon's dust net page. Professor Port, students, enjoy the rest of the day."

Glynda promptly left to prepare for her classes.

"Ahhh I remember the good old days, the Vytal Tournament was so different. Why I remember that you had to sign a waiver because we didn't have all those fancy safety protocols and aura meters. We either knew we could handle it or were just plain arrogant. I being the former, but it looks like we don't have much time anymore so as always… STAY VIGILANT."

The students began packing their belongings and made their way to the locker rooms to change in to their combat gear.

As Jaune began to stand up, his vision got a bit blurry and his head began to spin a little, he began to wobble a bit but Ren firmly grasped his shoulder.

"Jaune, do you need to go to the infirmiry?"

"Nah Ren. I'm okay, just felt a bit weird there. Thanks for worrying"

Pyrrha and Nora were at the door way looking in their direction, wondering what the holdup was.

Pyrrha gave Ren a worried look in which Ren responded by nodding, which confirmed her suspicion. She was sure Jaune couldn't handle another day more of such intensive training; he was already doing four times the load that any first year should have to do.

"Come on guys, We'll be late!"mentioned Jaune as he trotted past them.

* * *

Jaune Arc VS Yang Xiao Long

"Oh dear…" Ren muttered as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Pyrrha shared the same sentiment as Ren, while Nora happily cheered on, telling Jaune to give it his best.

"Hey vomit boy, you ain't looking to good, I won't hold it against you if you forfeit. After all, Pyrrha seems to have been riding you too hard this week", Yang said with a cheeky grin.

Pyrrha went red as a tomato

"Here we go…" Ruby sank into her seat

"YANG!" Weiss screamed in outrage

"…" Blake blushed and was a bit peeved. During their extended training sessions, Pyrrha would ogle Jaune as his sweat glistened of his body, his shirt clinging to his now well toned body. She would even feel up his body a little bit when she assisted him in stretching and cooling down. Jaune being none the wiser simply thanked Pyrrha.

"It's alright Yang, I asked her to do it. Thanks for your concern though"

"Somebody likes it rough…" Yang gave a toothy grin

Jaune simply sighed deeply and drew Crocea Mors, her blade singing, shield up front, body slightly profiled.

Yang loaded up Ember Cecilia, and got into her boxing stance.

Jaune was pretty sure that Yang would try to end this fight quickly but if he wanted to get stronger then he needed to get Yang to fight seriously.

Suddenly the familiar voice chimed in his head again

"Hmmm… yep, you're in the perfect state to use the Ironheart Second Wind Technique. The best time to use it is when the body is in a exhausted state, edging in and out of consciousness, it amazes me how fast you acquired it and that you were actually using it passively throughout the day but remember, you need to actually maintain that steady pace of deep breaths in combat for you to breathe in the ambient aura constantly. Don't let her hit your solar plexus, for I highly doubt you could get up. So shield up!"

" Okay, but I still don't understand why I need the technique when you confirmed I had a huge reserve of aura."

"If I had a paper fan and limbs I would smack you just like I did Elias. This technique was designed for those stupid enough to stay on the frontlines and extended combat far beyond the ken that physical conditioning can achieve. Against tireless beasts that could easily outnumber, whose tireless bodies were designed to end life? Are you so arrogant to think that a large aura reserve would be enough?"

"…Got it…"

"You know the key to winning battles. I don't need to remind you"

"One must put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, thanks Great Godfather", Jaune whispering to himself.

"I thought I told you to call me Uncle Raz, winning at this point is impossible, never hut to try though but at best we can see how far you have grown within this week. Now eyes up front, Its not nice to keep a lady waiting."

* * *

Yang confidently charged in throwing a powerful straight, hoping to push Jaune out of the stage but he simply twisted out of the way and almost got her with a shield bash but she managed to easily jump out of the way.

"Interesting…", Yang thought as she licked her lips. Jaune's style of fighting had changed drastically in the past few weeks. It seemed to be working for him better though and as much as she wanted to run him ragged, he honestly looked like he would keel over.

Yang began to throw vicious combinations of punches and kicks that would put lesser hunters into a coma but Jaune stood his ground not even giving an inch, skillfully blocking every avenue of attack with his shield and sword hilt. She hadn't realized it but she was already using dust rounds to augment her strikes and now some of her blows were actually getting though and Jaune was slowly being pushed back. Every Blow taking a chunk out of their auras

Jaune was giving it all he had, even with the movements being telegraphed to him, she was still too fast for him to block everything, now that she began to use her dust cartridges.

In her excitement she swung a powerful haymaker at Jaune but he deftly dodged it and went for a shield blow to her gut, and she quickly retaliated with a unforgiving elbow strike to his face. And for every strike he got in, she would throw in double.

Jaune breathed heavily and began to gather his courage. His body began to glow faintly and the edges of his eyes seeped out aura. Yang stopped her charge momentarily before charging off again towards the knight.

"Ren look at that!"Nora jumped excitedly in her seat.

Ren and Ruby both looked at each other wondering what Jaune was capable of doing in that state but to be honest they too were eager to see it.

Jaune met Yang mid-charge and simply charged with his shield face forward and Yang was judiciously repelled backwards by his shield but quickly rolled back into her stance and they began their exchange of blows once again.

Jaune had thrown a might horizontal swing with his sword arm and Yang narrowly dodged it before throwing an uppercut that connected with Jaune's chin followed by a head butt but this time was repelled again, the force originating from Jaune's forehead this time.

* * *

Jaune was seeing stars at this point, he was pretty sure he would not be able to defeat Yang yet but took pride that he was giving her a run for her money, that and the look of disbelief in the classroom helped.

Jaune was taken out of his musing by a flying knee that connected with his shield and his knees buckled slightly before quickly trying to riposte Yang.

"Time to end this I suppose", Jaune gathered his remaining aura towards his sword arm, glowing brightly as the aura circled and surged violently around it and Yang understood that this would be the final move of the match.

"Let's go vomit boy!" She pressed her two knuckles together and her fiery aura surged from her.

The two charged to end the match.

Mid-charge Jaune fired for the first time, multiple aura slashes, that threatened to put down the blonde brawler but she gracefully dodged each and every one.

It was such a small margin between victory and defeat but Yang managed to nail Jaune before he could recover from the motions of using the aura slash and was sent flying though the wall.

"Winner… Yang Xiao Long…"

After hearing that Yang layed on her back shortly after, reminiscing the feeling of fighting the loveable knight and how far he had grown.

"Miss Nikos, please retrieve your leader and send him to the infirmary please", Glynda calmly spoke to the remaining members of JNPR whose faces were still in disbelief. "And please tell him, I was impressed with his efficient aura usage for this match."

She watched with mirth as Jaune's teammates frantically searched for where their leader had landed and when they did, began shaking him hysterically. It was due to the intervention of Ms. Belladonna that they actually began moving towards the infirmary.

* * *

Flashback to the start of the week, In the Sanctuary deep in the heart of the Elder Tree

"OK just so you know after that flash back or whatever I haven't been able to sleep now that I know. So what am I supposed to do now? How do we even know if the barrier is still active?", Jaune asked, hoping for a direct answer.

"Faith… Faith that they are still fighting and buying us all the time they can. They've done so much for us and yet we don't have much to show for. And so it falls to us or in a more physical sense for you to get us back on track despite the limited time frame." The Voice said solemnly.

"I was afraid of that", Jaune said dejectedly

"Be at ease. I have a means of knowing and so far we still have time. I sense we still have at most three to four years. So your immediate concern right now is to become the best hunter that you can be and to get as many allies and connections, and to know as much about the things that you will face."

"Alright… Man, it's as if I don't have enough on my plate already… Who are you anyway?"

"Me? Hahaha… after all this time being stuck with only Celador here for company made me forget my manners." The voice spoke sheepishly.

"Jaune" The ambiguous voice changed into a rather deep masculine voice and it carried so much warmth in it that he was actually stunned.

There before him stood a man in his prime with black hair, deep purple eyes, clothed in a dark grey suit and armed with a unique set of Ebony Gauntlets and Greaves, looking straight at him with a proud smile on full display, hoping to impress his best friend's descendant.

"I am your Ancestral Godfather, Raziel Ironheart, Elias' and Illiana's best friend, and the first true headmaster of Beacon…impressed?"

"….", Jaune stood there Gob smacked. Not sure what to think.

"I know this is a lot to take in…" But before Raziel could continue

"Are you a ghost? Here to haunt beacon!? How are you even still here!?"

"It's complicated but you will know the truth in due time. I promise. But moving forward, how would you like to hear what our training days were like back then?"

Jaune gave an earnest smile and nodded

"But before I forget… Jaune meet Celador, the Great Ancient of Vytal, and he is quite happy with what you've done with the flower gardens and is eternally grateful."

"It wasn't my intention but I'm glad he liked it."

Out of the blue a large booming voice had spoken

"I very much do… Mankind has forgotten that they too are stewards of this world. I'm pleased by the fact that you seem to remember that ancient promise, despite knowing nothing about it…"

Raziel ruffled Jaune's hair fondly, "Well lets go on a trip down memory lane"

Jaune witnessed the Three as they experienced a rather more primitive version of what they experienced at Beacon. He watched as they grew through the days and months under the watchful eyes of the Elite Hunters in the Hunter Corps Main Base, The Citadel, located where all the kingdoms intersect, Vale.

Jaune couldn't help but notice that The Citadel is right where Beacon ought to be.

He observed how his ancestor trained and wielded Crocea Mors and his Aura. He mentally noted the techniques that Elias had developed and would try to incorporate and maybe even improve.

Elias' sword and shield play was using a different kind of style than what Pyrrha was teaching him. It was smooth and free flowing, it was a style that Raziel helped him develop. He used his shield to redirect and move with the blow, weaving, twisting and turning, like water. It complimented his build which was very similar to Jaune's, it was enchanting as it was devastating, for Elias would counter viciously with his sword and shield, Aura enforced bashing and slashing with his shield and Crocea Mors directed at anatomical weak points in the Grimm Physiology, would downright pulverize the target area or decapitate with minimal effort, and slashing. He could generate aura slashes that could hit targets at midrange and also double as a medic. He remembered that he started using that style not too long ago and would work hard to perfect and surpass it. He was given the Moniker, "Aura Knight".

Jaune noticed how Elias' team mates fought

Raziel Ironheart's weapons reminded him of Yang's Ember Cecilia, His weapons were tailor made for him by Jurgen Arc, they were a pair of virtually indestructible gauntlets and greaves that were apparently called Amethyst's Embrace, They were a dark steely ebony color with light violet Linings and there were retractable blades from the elbow and knee joints. His aura aspects "Mind of Steel" would allow his mind to create hundreds of calculations for every situation; "Body of Steel" would allow his aura to reinforce bone and muscle allowing him to generate more powerful blows and to survive them too; "Heart of Steel", Pain is numbed and the concept of fear and hesitation is non-existent while active.

All these allow him to charge into the middle of a pack formation and stay there, lopping off limbs and piercing vital organs, a living tornado of blades, fists and kicks with near limitless stamina. His purpose is to draw the attention of the pack as the vanguard, protecting his teammates from the worst of it like he always has and to allow them more time to better position themselves.

Raziel got the title, "The Indomitable", during the first week of training, to grasp the capabilities of the trainees, they were made to fight one vs one, and the winner would fight twice the amount of opponents and the numbers would increase until the trainee could no longer fight. Raziel had made it up to ten opponents, fighting a mix of second and third years. Half way into the round his opponents kept attacking him more blows battering his body until one of the second years noticed that the light in his eyes were gone but his body was still moving albeit very sluggishly but there was still power enough to knock any of them out. They asked if they should continue, since he was still capable of fighting.

The instructor wasn't sure what to make of it but decided to just end the match and told them to put him in the med bay. When they tried to tell Raziel to stop his body lashed out and continued to fight.

Elias and Yuki, exiting the medical tent while nursing their bruises having reached versus seven and versus eight respectively, saw the commotion and charged into the scene to calm their best friend.

"Don't get near him, he's gone full psycho!" one of the third years shouted but the two continued onward and embraced Raziel and whispered to his ears, "You can rest now".

And like a puppet with its strings cut, Raziel fell to his knees, and was carried by Elias into the medical tent.

Illiana Yuki had definitely grown with grace, her strawberry hair was waist long, a bit on the slender side but she was definitely eye catching and she knew if she was going to stick with her two best friends, she had to be able to keep up. She had become a force to be reckoned when she mastered the use of Gentle Prison also forged by Jurgen Arc, Sister Whips that were colored Amber and Black, which moved exactly how she wanted it to. Her fighting style was inspired from one of the first Hunters, Lord Belmont, who was a master whip user and tamer. She asked Raziel to teach her some kicking techniques that would compliment her whips.

Her Aura as she called it was Gemini, Allowing her to create almost complete copies of herself that she can command allowing more tactical options, though one peculiar quirk about it is that they would carry one particular part of her psyche and obviously the more there were, there harder it was to get along with herself. She would trap Grimm allowing Raziel or Elias some breathing room when things got too hectic or lock the prey in place for the killing blow or just outright tear them to shreds.

"The Mistress" was a moniker she got when one night she was practicing her semblance when one of her "selves", Lust, escaped her and went around the camp tying up and whipping their fellow trainees, some discovered their masochistic tendencies. Funny thing was that when Elias showed up to stop her, Lust acted very demurely for an aspect of lust. That raised one of Raziel's long standing suspicions and after that fiasco she had gained quite a following that the name just stuck.

Together they were the Hunter Corps Assault Division, "77th Rook", led by Elias Arc. Their first debut was for their valiant defense of a small town right at the heart of a sudden Grimm infestation. The town garrison kept the beasts away from the gates but they were running out of ammunitions and the gates could only hold for so long. They were given direct orders to regroup immediately but Elias being the man that he was had other plans. Time was of the essence as the structural integrity of the walls were far more compromised than what the initial reports were.

After determining a tactically defensible pass close to the village, Elias devised a simple strategy to get the beasts away from the town. Raziel would stand right at the mouth of the pass, while Illiana and her "selves" would support them from higher elevation and Elias would be in the middle. He flared up his aura, lighting up the night sky and the creatures of Grimm began flocking to their positions.

"Hey Raziel, you remember that ancient mistral folk tale about the 300 soldiers that defended some pass?" Elias asked as the ground rumbled, a sign that the horde was on its way.

"… If you're asking if our situation is similar then it probably is… though it would still be nice to have the other 297 comrades to show up", Raziel deadpanned

"Guys… they're almost here. I sent Anger and Brave to whittle down their numbers a bit and they're making their way back, Gloomy is on overwatch, says that our end is coming in about one minute." Illiana reported.

"Everything couldn't be any more perfect eh? Elias? I got my two best friends on a perfectly clear moonlit night, getting into trouble again. You know that we are going to get grilled for this.", Raziel softly spoke, "Life is good", a savage grin on his face as the first wave of Grimm emerged hot on the heels of Anger and Brave, where it seemed Anger was lugging a uncooperative Brave.

"Unhand me coward! I will not shame myself by RUNNING!

"DO YOU WANT ME TO BASH YOUR HEAD IN!? CAUSE I WILL!"

The battle progress just as planned, the key to success was Illiana's semblance, which allowed her and her "selves" to keep the beasts funneled by using her whips to ensnare them into Elias' aura slashes for deadly effect and keeping them clustered so that Raziel could gracefully rip them limb from limb without having to chase after them too far or if they tried to go further around and flank them, they would be torn to shreds. It was an effective plan that required complete trust and confidence that your teammates had your back.

By the end of it, they received punishment publicly for endangering themselves and the whole operation but the commander in charge, also commended them privately for their initiative and courage but warned them not to do it again without his approval while they were under his command.

"I believe that is enough for now Jaune", Raziel ending the memory, seeing how Jaune had started showing signs of drowsiness, That and it was almost time for curfew.

"Aww, I wanted to see more of what it was like back then.",Jaune sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"All in due time Jaune…"

"All of you were such great hunters that I can't help but feel…"

"Enough of that…" Raziel interrupted Jaune sternly," I will not have you entertain such thoughts. You are so much more than you think. And when I am done with you, you will see it yourself because you already have the most important thing that a hunter needs."

"And what is that?",Jaune asked tilting his head.

"Now that would be telling", Raziel laughed heartily while Jaune just pouted. Raziel laughed even harder, tears forming on the edge of his eyes. "You two are so alike, now off you go, get as much rest as I will be running you ragged. So good night Jaune."

Jaune began walking but quickly turned 180 and embraced Raziel, "I'm really glad and lucky… that I managed to meet you", before exiting the heart of the Elder Tree.

Raziel stood there shocked but smiled and began to recede back into the heart of the Elder Tree. He began to speak the words from one of his favorite books, The Age of Dragons Volume II, excited that his long wait is finally over.

"Reach down into your heart and you will find many reasons to fight.

Survival… Honor… Glory…

But what about those who feel it's their duty to protect the innocent?

There you will find the warrior savage enough to match any dragon…

And in the end…

They will retain what the others won't…. Their Humanity." –Varric: Dragon Age 2

"Isn't that right Elias?..."

* * *

**Side Stories: How Crocea Mors got their sheathe and the 3 Heroes Biggest Supporter**

And in their 2nd Year they met their handler. A hunting team composed of 3 hunters and 1 handler, who would provide, intel, mission objectives, equipment maintenance, logistics, support and etc.

Her name was Scarlet Summers, she was a short girl sporting shoulder length dark red hair and a Hunter Corps Beret tipped to the left and wearing large round glasses framing her apple green eyes. Everyone thought she would be a hard ass handler. That was until she literally squealed in delight when she noticed the signature markings on their weapons; apparently she was a big fan of Elias' dad.

She was one of the more sought out new handlers for the predominantly male teams because she was very cute and despite her height, she was rather abundantly "stacked" in the right places. But what really got people's attention were all the firearms she carried on her person and could fire it from any position with accuracy. Apparently she was a gun lover and inventor and she swore that one day she would perfect the art of combining multiple weapons into one so that it would be more convenient and efficient.

And Crocea Mors current sheath was forged when she overhead Elias complaining about how he had to carry a large shield on his back when they travelled, when Raziel was simply wearing his weapons and Illiana used hers like a belt. So she spent time researching for her project and even involved Jurgen, requesting the same materials he used to create Crocea Mors and together they created the prototype of all Mecha-shifting weapons, Crocea Mors' sheath. Once Elias received it he was very grateful but he noted offhandedly that it somehow was a bit heavy.

"That's as light as I can make it. Honestly! You are fighting creatures that are easily a hundred times larger than you and you want a lighter shield?! Think before speaking!"

Elias was trying to calm Scarlet as she went off tangent on her tirade.

"Wow… Scarlet kinda reminds me of Ruby"

"Yes… they do share some quirks … well at least now you know about your sheath…"

"I still think it's a bit heavy though…"

And the two laughed heartily.

* * *

**A/N: I RISE FROM THE GRAVE!... not. Wow, it has been that long since I updated huh. Real life sure does get to ya.**

******Shout out to Mysteriousblade.**Razyangel is still alive and kicking, THIS STORY WILL NOT DIE! 

**Not until we have the anticipated Kaiju battle at least and thats CHAPTERS AWAY! Forgive me if its a bit lack luster but it will improve moving forward. So, I ask, Shall we weave this tale together once again?**

**A secret between the two. Romance in the next chapter.**


End file.
